J.J. Putz signed on to be the Diamondbacks’ closer with a two-year, $10 million deal this offseason, but the veteran right-hander won’t make his spring training debut until March 7 despite nothing being wrong with him physically.

Arizona manager Kirk Gibson explained to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com that Putz will focus on building up his arm strength with bullpen sessions and long toss while likely only logging a total of around eight innings of actual game action. “Different people like to do it different ways,” Gibson said.

Putz threw 8.1 innings for the White Sox last spring and went on to have a fantastic season in a setup role, posting a 2.83 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 54 innings. If healthy, he’s one of the main reasons why I think the Diamondbacks are very capable of out-performing their low expectations this season.